Lovecraft: hechizo mortal

I wonder why this isn't a movie that people know? After all, it is definitely unique and fun to watch, and how many films do you know that are a combination 1940s film noir and horror? Man, this is a real "curiosity piece."

It's Los Angeles and 1948 and everyone, except the hero (Fred Ward) is using magic, occult witchcraft-type stuff (which this reviewer hardly endorses). Ludicrous, yes, but fascinating and funny in parts.

Too bad this isn't out on DVD because the colors and atmosphere just ooze 1940s. It's also simply great entertainment. Juliane Moore looks gorgeous and Ward is likable in the lead role. He has the authentic look of a private eye, and I like the idea that he has more morals than all the other characters in the movie combined.

If any story can be called truly "unique," this is one of them.

This is an unique film, an example of a poorly known film that strongly deserves more. It's taste on mixing a 40's detective story with the alternate past in which "everyone used magic" (as the initial screen says) is strange, tasty, and makes this film to be in its own classification. I've never seen other film like that.

Let's say that the plot is not an original one... an antihero fighting for the freedom of the world, and he hardly knows what he's doing. The most wonderful is the charm of the epoque, the constantly appearing "magic tricks" (like the pub with an entrance but no building), the songs singed by julianne moore... just unforgettable.

Just watched this on the recommendation of a friend, and was very pleasantly surprised. It's not High Cinematic Art by any means, but it's entertaining and funny, the acting is very competent indeed, the effects, although not exactly convincing, work well with the overall theme of the piece, and the plot is coherent and credible (unusual both for mainstream comedy and mainstream horror).

I particularly like the way that it combines multiple B-movie themes most convincingly; the hard-drinking private detective (with suitably glamorous femmes fatales), the evil wizard/scientist who wants total world domination, and the well-timed slapstick comedy. The none-too-subtle references to several more serious films (Alien, Gremlins, Witness, to name but three) add a suitably post-modern touch of irony to the humour.

Just one thing. _Don't_ watch this if you're a Lovecraft fan. You'll have an apoplectic seizure. :)

I first saw this when it premiered on HBO in '91. With a Who's Who cast of character-actors, this first-rate production by Gale Anne Hurd (of James Cameron/Terminator fame) and directed by Martin Campbell (soon to direct Goldeneye and Mask of Zorro)is a brilliant mesh tribute to the works of HP Lovecraft. With a firm tongue-in-cheek, the viewer is taken along on the latest case of H. Phil Lovecraft, private detective in a 1948 Los Angeles where "everybody does magic". A relatively new happening, magic is real...everyone uses it, except Lovecraft. Fred Ward turns in one of his best performances to date as the hard-boiled detective, wise-cracking his way through every situation. Julianne Moore is spot-on as Phil's ex-girl, the sultry songbird in his former partner(Clancy Brown)'s club. David Warner is perfect as Lovecraft's effete client, Amos Hackshaw. It's a sharply-written noir tale with more than a few Cthulhu references, and adds some more generalized fantasy for spice. Pay attention to the details, this is where the picture really shines- from the everyday applications of magic, to the snappy banter between Lovecraft and pretty-much everyone, it's an enjoyable escape from reality-TV. The creatures are passable, not the best by today's CGI standards, but certainly not the worst seen in some straight-to-video bombs. The writing is stylish and inventive, with some really ingenious scenes/situations. Martin Cambell's direction takes you right along with Lovecraft, with some brilliant cinematography. The casting is terrific as well. I was never bored. One of my top-20 favorite films. I can't wait for a DVD version, if it ever appears. A terribly disappointing, not-so-great sequel called "Witch Hunt" was done in '94 with a completely different cast & director.

Fred Ward is excellent as the 1948 private eye hired to find a stolen witchcraft book, the "Necronomicon". It had to be a unique film that blends noir, monsters, virgins, zombies, and magic into a "black comedy", and that film is "Cast a Deadly Spell". There are at least a bunch of surprises along the way, as our hero tries to locate the book. The sharp tongued dialog is perfect, droll, and often hilarious, as Fred Ward, the only one who doesn't use magic, tries to survive witches spells, gangsters, and solve the case. This movie proves that you don't need CGI, if you have a creative mind behind the script, and some excellent makeup for the monsters. - MERK